Silo and method of building same



July 1, 1941.

M. GOLDBECK.

SILO AND METHOD OF BUILDING SAME Filed Oct Marlin Patented July 1, 1941 UNITED PAT EN'T OF F I C E.

T r 2,247,836; SILO. METHOD. or BUILDING SAME Martin Gbldbeck, Kansas City, Mo.. Application October 14, 1940, .S'erialNo. 361,172

12 Claims.

My invention relates to silos constructed: with vitreous tilesand it has an object to provide an improved construction involving a new and 'improved tile unit, an expansion joint and aninelastic combined stave lock and lateral-pressure transmitting medium, and method. of assembling the same, by virtueof which improved construction slight inequalities. in the tiles; met with in practice, will have no harmful effects.

The principal object which I aim at is to provide a silo which will be acid proof, and at the same time a silowhich can bebuilt economically; another object is to make asilo which will exclude air from entering the silo through the fine hair cracks which occur in all tile masonry around-the tile units (due. to expansionand. contraction of said units, they being relatively: large).

More particularly the inventionrelates-to silos of the general type disclosed. in the .Patent' to Steinkraus, 1,383,166; issued. June 28,, 192-1,"in which a silo. of generally circular cross-section is built up of staves composedof slabs-ortiles set vertically end to end and. bound together ver- 2 tical edge to vertical edge by suitable hoops- Generally, my invention resides in providing. vitreous. tiles of suitable lengths,sbreadthsa and thicknesses, the end walls of which. are parallel flat surfaces, the side walls of. which-'have: each a relatively large longitudinal groove. to receive an expansion-joint strip and as relativelysmall' longitudinal groove to receive anineIasti'e;.'lateral compression strain-transmitting. stave-locking key.

Further, the invention resides in. the. provisionof fiat-slab horizontal joint'units between adja-- cent tiles of a stave which unitshave provision for holding the expansion-joint strips; attire-sides of the. tiles, in place during construction of the side.

Again, the invention resides in a novelmethod of. assembling'the tiles, expansion. joints, hori-- zontal joint-slabs, etc, into the completed structure.

Other objects will in part be obvious'and in part be pointed out hereinafter.

To the attainment oftheaforesaid objects and ends the invention stillfurther resides'inithe novel details of construction; combination and arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described in the following detailed description, and then be particularly pointed out. in. the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which--- Fig. 1 is an elevation and part-section of" a. portion ofasilo embodying myinvention'.

Fig. 2 is a perspectiveviewof' one ofthe short: tiles embodying the improved, features of construction.

Fig. 3' isa perspective view of one of the ex.- pansion-joint' strips. r,

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one-of the horizontal j oint-slabs.

Fig, 5 is a. detail horizontal section of; portions of two adjacent tiles in the positions they finally assume on completion of a silo of. an inside diameter of ten feet.

Fig. 6; isv a View like Fig. 5 showing theposiq tion of adjacent tiles in a sixteen-foot inside diameter silo.

Fig; 7 is a view like-Figs. 5 and 6 showing the position of the adjacent tiles in a twenty-four foot inside diameter silo. I

In" the drawing, in which like numbers and letters of, reference indicate like parts all figures, 1

A, B, and C designate tiles of three different sizes-say 12;", 24 andlB," lengths, respectively.

Each tile; inv practice, is preferably four: inches. thick: Tlieshorttiles: A are preferably 12 inches high, tiles B, 24 inches high, and tl1BS.'C,I '18; inches high; 'i '1 r Each; tile has an inside. face: .I that is preferably flat", an. outside face 2. thatv is preferably curved outward on a radius of approximatelyzflg feet 4. inches. Ea'chltilepal'sohas flat upper and lower ends and is'provided along. its vertical;

sides 3. with; relatively wide. (in the. depth of the:

tile) expansion-joint-strip: receiving, grooves 4, the. surface of the. bottom of the grooves being outwardly' curved, i the vertical. sides 3 being:- curved; outwardlyron. a radius. of preferably 101/ inches. In.addition to. the vertical 'side' grooves andibetwjeen. said" grooves and the outer face 2 of? the. tile, each. tile has: a. relatively narrow:

verticalt'groove-iii In-assembling'the tiles to build up the-silo.

t'h'egrooves 4 and 5 respectively; of one tileor' stave of tiles, lie opposite thoseof; the laterally: adjacent tiles] or stavesof tiles as shown in Figs; 51 to- 7 inclusive;

strips 6 of expansion-joint material (preferably asphalt'um-saturated fibre expansion-joint ma terial asused in road and bridge con'st-ruction-l,

' preferably formed or shaped in cro-ss sectiorr to InFig. 4 isshow one of the horizontal joi'nt-f slabs 9; also preferably made of the expansionjoint material referred to above, These joint? slabs 9'- have holes I'll (registering with. the cells of the tiles) and preferably have recesses. l2, con- The lateral edges. of

forming to the grooves. 52 the slabs 9 are ext'ended,..as at FL, to project over the grooves 4.130, cover the vertical jointsbetween the ends of the vertically adjacnts tripslfil.

1' designates the slab-locking lateral-pressure- Interposed between the til-es and lying in the grooves-4 of adjacent tilesa're transmitting keys of quick setting cement, which fill the space from joint strips 6 to the outer faces of the tiles, while 8 designates a mastic (preferably made of cut-back asphalt and asbestos fibres) which fills the space between the slabs from the strips 6 to the inside face of the silo.

The method of building the silo is as follows:

On a suitable base (which per se is no part of the present invention) is laid the first course of tile. In this course every alternate tile A will be the tile which is, say, four inches thick, twelve inches wide and twelve inches high; the other alternate tiles B will be, say, four inches thick, twelve inches wide and twenty-four inches high (including joints and measured on the inside of the silo). The vertical joint slabs E are placed in the recesses formed by the grooves 4 as the tiles are set.

The horizontal joint-slabs 9, which are about one-fourth inch thick, are placed on top of the tiles.

After the first course has been laid, the twentyfour inch tiles B are used in the second and succeeding courses to the top of the structure, except at the top course where alternate twelveinch high tiles A are used to level up and except for a number of eighteen-inch high tile sections C used in the vertical slabs where the doors D are located.

As the door construction is well known and not per se of my invention, detailed illustration thereof is unnecessary.

As the structure goes up, round rod hoops [3, of well known construction and proper size to resist the internal pressures, are put on and tightened lightly; when the silo has reached its required height, the hoops I3 are tightened so firmly that close contact is established at all places with the expansion joints 6. The silo is then pointed up on all interior joints with the mastic 8.

Next, the spaces between the joints 6 and the outside of the silo, including the grooves 5, are filled with a quick setting Portland cement, colored to match the color of the tile; next, the hoops l3 are tightened fully so that henceforth the lateral pressure is almost entirely taken up and transmitted from one stave to the adjoining staves by the Portland cement joints. In practice, this joint is about one and one-eighth inches in width (along a radius of the silo) and its resistance to compression is about three thousand pounds per square inch minimum. These are locked in place by those portions which are located in the grooves and these cement joints extend from bottom to top of the silo and look a stave against slippage, in the direction of a radius of the silo, from an adjacent stave.

If desired, these cement joint keys 1 may be reinforced with wire or rods 14 as indicated, for example, in Fig. 5.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 5 to '7 that the keys I are protected from the silage acids not only by the mastic filler 8 but by the expansion joints 6 which are always under some compression, enough to maintain full surface contact with the stave-tiles over the entire surfaces of the grooves 4. The keys I also serve to seal in the expansion joints, which, due to their considerable thickness (about one-half inch in practice) exhibit a tendency to run in hot weather, and prevent their being blown out by excessive pressures within the silo.

The cells of the staves will be sealed airtight at the top, but the holes ID in the members 9 will enable condensation water to gravitate to the bottom, where weep-holes will be provided to drain it out.

From the foregoing description, taken with the accompanying drawing, it is thought the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. The method of constructing a silo of hollow-tile staves having two sets of opposed vertical side grooves in the tiles, said method comprising laying tiles side by side in horizontal rows or courses and placing expansion-joint strips in one set of the opposed side grooves and placing the tiles of the second and succeeding horizontal rows or courses end to end on top of and in alignment with those below with horizontal joint slabs between the tiles so as to form vertical staves, applying constricting pressure to the courses to slightly squeeze said expansion-joint strips until full surface contact is made between the strips and the tiles, then filling the outside vertical spaces between the tiles, which spaces include the other set of opposed side grooves, with a quick setting cement, and then drawing the staves toward one another to transmit a substantial part of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves through said cement filler.

2. In a silo, a number of building tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said lateral sides being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided each with relatively wide expansion-joint-strip-receiving longitudinal grooves whose inner surfaces are also curved outwardly in cross-section, expansion-joint strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint strips, means independent of said expansion-joint strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a substantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining'staves.

3. In a silo, a number of building tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said lateral sides being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided each with relatively wide expansion-joint-strip-receiving longitudinal grooves, whose inner surfaces are also curved outwardly in cross-section, expansion-joint-strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint-strips, means independent of said expansion-joint-strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a substantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves, said last named means comprising quick setting cement fillers between the vertical edges of said staves from the expansion-joint-strips to the outside of the silo.

4. In a silo, a number of building tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said later-a1 sides being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided each with relatively wide expansion-joint-strip-receiving longitudinal grooves, whose inner surfaces are also curved outwardly in cross-section, expansion-joint-strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint-strips, means independent of said eXpansion-joint-strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a substantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves, said last named means comprising quick setting cement fillers between the vertical edges of said staves from the expansionjoint strips to the outside of the silo, said staves having a second set of longitudinal grooves in their lateral sides to receive portions of said cement fillers and to interlock the fillers and staves.

5. A building tile for silos which comprises a hollow vitreous body one face of which, the face which forms a part of the inner wall surface of the silo, is fiat and the opposite face of which is outwardly curved in cross-section, on approximately the radius of the silo wall, the top and bottom ends of the tile being flat, the lateral side walls of the tile being outwardly curved in cross-section, on approximately a radius of ten and one half inches, and provided with separate longitudinally extending expansion-joint grooves and pressure transmitting filler-key receiving grooves.

6. A building tile for silos which. comprises a hollow vitreous body one face of which, the face which forms a part of the inner wall surface of the silo, is fiat and the opposite face of which is outwardly curved in cross-section, the top and bottom ends of the tile being flat, the lateral side walls of the tile being outwardly curved in crosssection, and provided with separate longitudinally extending expansion-joint grooves and pressure transmitting filler-key receiving grooves.

7. In a silo, a number of building tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said lateral sides being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided each with relatively wide expansion-joint-strip-receiving longitudinal grooves, expansion-joint-strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint-strips, means independent of said expansion-joint-strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a substantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves.

8. A building tile for silos which comprises a hollow vitreous body one face of which, the face which forms a part of the inner wall surface of the silo, is fiat and the opposite face of which is outwardly curved in cross-section, the top and bottom ends of the tile being fiat, the lateral side walls of the til-e being outwardly curved in crosssection, and provided with separate longitudinally extending expansion-joint grooves and pressure transmitting filler-key receiving grooves, said expansion-joint grooves having their inner walls outwardly curved in cross-section.

9. In a silo, a number of buliding tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said lateral sides being outwardly curved in crosssection and provided each with relatively wide expansion joint strip receiving longitudinal grooves, expansion-joint-strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint-strips, means independent of said expansion-joint-strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a substantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves, said horizontal joint-slabs conforming in general to the topend of a tile and being provided with side projections to overhang the expansion-jointstrip-receiving grooves.

10. In a silo, a number of building tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said lateral sides being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided each with relatively wide expansion-joint-strip-receiving longitudinal grooves, expansion-joint-strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint-strips, means independent of said expansion-joint-strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a. substantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves, said last named means comprising quick setting cement fillers located between the sides of said staves and extending from the expansionjoint-strips to the outside of the silo.

11. In a silo, a number of building tiles and horizontal joint-slabs, arranged one above the other to form staves, the staves being arranged in the form of an annulus with .the lateral sides of the tiles in each stave disposed in juxtaposition with respect to the lateral sides of the adjoining staves, said lateral sides being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided each with relatively wide expansion-joint-strip-receiving longitudinal grooves, expansion-joint-strips within said grooves, means for drawing said staves toward one another and in engagement with said expansion-joint-strips, means independent of said expansion-joint-strips for holding said staves out of contact with one another laterally and transmitting a susbtantial portion of the lateral pressure from one stave to the adjoining staves, said last named means comprising quick setting cement fillers located between the sides of said staves and extending from the expansionjoint-strips to the outside of the silo, said staves having a second set of longitudinal grooves in their lateral sides to receive portions of said cement fillers.

12. A building til for silos which comprises a hollow vitreous body, the top and bottom ends of which are fiat, the lateral side walls of the tile being outwardly curved in cross-section and provided with separate longtiudinaly extending expansion-joint grooves and pressure transmitting filler-key receiving grooves, said expansion-joint grooves having their inner walls outwardly curved in cross-section.

MARTIN GOLDBECK. 

